Bardstown prepares to party
20th anniversary of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival September 13-18, 2011

BARDSTOWN, KY – AUGUST 2011 – The Kentucky Bourbon Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary, September 13 to 18, in historic Bardstown – the Bourbon Capital of the World – and invites you to come celebrate the Spirit of Kentucky. Thirty-nine events are planned, including two new ones: “Half Pint of Whiskey History with a Shot of Humor,” hosted by noted historian Dixie Hibbs at Wickland Home of Three Governors; and “Any Way She Likes It,” a private bourbon tasting just for the girls (although significant others are welcome), hosted by former Master Bourbon Taster Peggy Noe Stevens and the Bourbon Women.

“With the rapid growth of the new Bourbon Women’s association, it seemed like a natural fit,” says Noe Stevens. “I plan to have great fun teaching women about bourbon and taking them on a deep sensory dive into distinguishing flavors.”

Don’t miss events
With signature Kentucky warmth and hospitality, the five-day festival celebrates “America’s Official Native Spirit.” Highlights include the Kentucky Bourbon All-Star Sampler™ with an opportunity to meet the master distillers of the bourbon industry; Mixed Drink  Challenge™ competition to create the next world-class bourbon cocktail; Boots and Bourbon™ country event; the Culinary Arts, Bourbon Style Cooking School™; Bourbon, Cigars and Jazz™;
and the black-tie Great Kentucky Bourbon Tasting and Gala™.

Roll out the barrels
Family-friendly fun includes the Balloon Glow, which kicks off the festival on Tues., Sept. 13 and, on Fri., Sept. 16, the Whiskey City Cruisers Car Show, touring the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, including displays featuring Abraham Lincoln, and the World Championship Barrel Relay. On Sun., Sept. 18, enjoy hands-on activities at the Family Fun Area and the music of the Bourbon Idle contest on the lawn of Spalding Hall.

Rounding out festival fun: music by the Kentucky Headhunters (Saturday), The Spirit Garden™, Let’s Talk Bourbon™, a golf tournament and a poker run and a Kentucky Bourbon Breakfast at Spalding Hall on Sunday.

PHOTO
Barrel racing is one of 39 events that will take place during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival’s 20th anniversary celebration. Photo: Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist & Convention Commission.

Kentucky Bourbon Festival 20th Anniversary
Festival website: www.KyBourbonFestival.com

Date Tues., Aug. 13-Sun., Aug. 18. Opens 7:30 p.m., Tues. with Balloon Glow. Concludes Sun., 5 p.m.

Place  Bardstown, various locations, including Spalding Hall

Cost  Varies by event.

Note  Kentucky Bourbon Festival offers a “Safe Ride Home” program Wed.-Sun.

ABOUT Bardstown │ With its quintessential Southern small town sensibility, nearly 200 National Register of Historic Place buildings and charming circular Courthouse Square, Bardstown seems more like a yesteryear village than a bustling town in central Kentucky. But bustle it does: The “Bourbon Capital of the World” is a spirited community that is home to the Barton 1792 Distillery, plus three of the six distilleries on the famed Kentucky Bourbon Trail: Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam. Bardstown has one of the four most important Civil War museums in the country, the Civil War Museum of the Western Theatre, as well as the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History and The Kentucky Railway Museum. It is the backdrop for “The Stephen Foster Story,” Kentucky’s official outdoor drama, and for a vibrant restaurant landscape that includes numerous historic dining venues and plenty of locally owned eateries, many of them situated – along with a lively collection of shops, boutiques and galleries – in the historic downtown district. Additionally, Bardstown has four 18-hole golf courses, three self-guided tours (Historic Downtown Walking, Architectural and African-American), two wineries and numerous religious attractions.

Fore- KBF GOLF TOURNAMENT

The Kentucky Bourbon Festival will host a Four Person Golf Scramble at Bardstown Country Club at Maywood on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 8AM.

Complimentary refreshments will be served on the course. All entrants will receive lunch, gift bag and golf shirts. Prizes will be awarded for each division along with door prizes. There will be two divisions: distillery and open. Entries will be accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis and are limited to the first 144.

$125 per person entry fee. Mulligans are $5 each with a limit of 2 per person. Must be 21 to participate. For more information or to enter please call 800-638-4877 # 4 or 502-348-3623 # 4 or stop by the Kentucky Bourbon Festival office at One Court Square, Bardstown, Kentucky. Entry forms are also available online at www.kybourbonfestival.com.

The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Hi all,

Hope you are all well and enjoying the ‘summer’.

Massive apologies to those who have been waiting to hear about classes in the upcoming Whisky Festivals in Brighton, Liverpool, York, Stratford Upon Avon and Manchester. I have been working hard to get these sorted and I think I underestimated the work required for six events worth of masterclasses!

There are also three ‘Bluffer’s Guide’ tastings at only £10 at the end of August in London (22nd), Manchester (26th) and Newcastle (27th) for those who would like to brush up or get their non-whisky-drinking friends involved. Go to the events page of the website for further details before it’s too late as they are selling well…

Anyway, back to the festivals – we have some great classes to look forward to so here we go then… Oh, if you can’t be on with reading through all of this here and now, the Facebook page has been updated with all of this info. You can find it here.

2nd Brighton Whisky Festival
Saturday 3rd September
Hilton Brighton Metropole
Kings Street
11am-4pm £20 per ticket

Masterclasses;

11.30-12.30pm Whisky, what’s it all about?, TWL – Eddie Ludlow £5.00

Join Eddie, founder of The Whisky Lounge, on a compact yet informative and fun tasting to help prepare you for the day to come…

12.00-1.15pm Auchentoshan – Zoran Peric £7.50

Once, along with Campbeltown, the hot-bed of whisky production, the Lowlands are now limited to only a handful of distilleries. Of these only Auchentoshen still employs the Lowland tradition of triple-distillation making it unique in the industry. Come and find out and taste more at this fascinating class hosted by their UK Ambassador…

2.00-3.15pm The Balvenie – Sam Simmons £7.50

We are indeed honoured with the presence of the Global Brand Ambassador for The Balvenie and all round whisky good-guy Sam Simmons. In a twist on last years class, Sam will present a ‘de-construction’ of their Signature bottling before…you get the chance to do it yourself. Your palate will be put to the test as you construct your own bottling from the cask samples Sam will provide. Interactive and unmissable!

1st Liverpool Whisky Festival
Saturday 10th September
The Adelphi Hotel
Ranelagh Place
12pm-5pm £20 per ticket

Masterclasses;

12.30-1.30pm Whisky, what’s it all about?, TWL – Eddie Ludlow £5.00

Join Eddie, founder of The Whisky Lounge, on a compact yet informative and fun tasting to help prepare you for the day to come…

1.15-2.45pm Distillers Editions, Diageo – Colin Dunn £7.50

A ‘taste the difference’ tasting with a difference! A chance to sample special, ‘double-matured’ versions of some of Diageo’s finest. If you like sherry, port or any other wine finish then this is the one for you, although Colin would say this one is for anyone who like whisky full-stop!

Colin Dunn is one of the fore-most UK Brand Ambassadors in the UK and is a one-man whisky entertainment system. Don’t miss his first visit to Liverpool!

3.15-4.45pm Isle of Jura – Willie Tate, Distillery Manager £10.00

The island that housed George Orwell as he wrote ‘1984’ is home to one distillery – the aptly named ‘Jura’! Lying to the west of Scotland opposite its more famous neighbour of Islay, Jura goes about its business quietly. Here you have the chance to not only taste some trinkets from the vaults, but to rub shoulders (so to speak) with the man responsible for the production of the very whisky you’ll be tasting! What an opportunity!

8th York Whisky Festival
Saturday 17th September
The Park Inn
North Street
12pm-5pm £20 per ticket

Masterclasses;

12.30-1.30pm Whisky, what’s it all about? TWL – Eddie Ludlow £5.00

Join Eddie, founder of The Whisky Lounge, on a compact yet informative and fun tasting to help prepare you for the day to come…

1.00-2.15pm Six of the Best, Diageo – Colin Dunn £10.00

Crowd favourite Colin returns to York with a bang! Aware that he is under pressure to provide something special to the regular York stalwarts as well as the newbies, he is putting on something a bit special for you. Quite simple – six of Colin’s favourite whiskies from the current Diageo range, from Mortlach to Linkwood, and Caol Ila Moch to Talisker 57 North. Should be a real cracker…

Colin Dunn is one of the fore-most UK Brand Ambassadors in the UK and is a one-man whisky entertainment system.

3.00-4.15pm Tales from the Solera, Glenfiddich – Jamie Milne £7.50

The 15 Year Old ‘Solera Reserve’ version of this iconic Speyside distillery is often cited as many conoisseuer’s favourite. This tasting is a rare opportunity to see how it ‘ticks’. Join Jamie Milne as he guides you through samples from the three different types of casks used in the Solera Process to create Glenfiddich 15 years old as well as tasting a natural-strength version of the 15yo itself, taken straight from the Solera Vat in Warehouse 8 at Glenfiddich Distillery.

4.00-5.15pm IWSC – Gold Medal Winners – Eddie Ludlow £15.00

The International Wine & Spirits Competition is the most prestigious drinks competition in the world. Eddie Ludlow, founder of the The Whisky Lounge, has proudly sat on the spirits panel for the last three years and would now like to share his experience with you. In this special class he presents six of this years gold medal winners and takes you through the process of judging whilst keeping you entertained with his usual sledgehammer wit and manner. Not to be missed.

1st Stratford upon Avon Whisky Festival
Saturday 1st October
The Park Inn
Henley Street
12pm-5pm £20 per ticket

Masterclasses;

12.30-1.30pm Whisky, what’s it all about?, TWL – Eddie Ludlow £5.00

Join Eddie, founder of The Whisky Lounge, on a compact yet informative and fun tasting to help prepare you for the day to come…

1.15-2.45pm Six of the Best, Diageo – Colin Dunn £10.00

Crowd favourite Colin comes ‘home’! Having started his whisky industry career in Leamington Spa, Colin is now one of the fore-most UK Brand Ambassadors in the UK and is a one-man whisky entertainment system.

This tasting should provide something for everyone – six of Colin’s favourite whiskies from the current Diageo range, from Mortlach to Linkwood, and Caol Ila Moch to Talisker 57 North. Should be a real cracker…

3.00-4.15pm IWSC – Gold Medal Winners – Eddie Ludlow £15.00

The International Wine & Spirits Competition is the most prestigious drinks competition in the world. Eddie Ludlow, founder of the The Whisky Lounge, has proudly sat on the spirits panel for the last three years and would now like to share his experience with you. In this special class he presents six of this years gold medal winners and takes you through the process of judging whilst keeping you entertained with his usual sledgehammer wit and manner. Not to be missed.

3.15-4.45pm Arran – Island of Discovery – John Whatmough £7.50

One of the ‘new generation’ of distilleries having only started distilling in 1995, Arran has very quickly built a fantastic reputation amongst whisky-lovers. With a sweet, pure distillate and an interesting and innovative approach to maturation, Arran is a fascinating subject. John Whatmough will take you through a range of their whiskies including some recent special editions.

If you want to book onto any of these, please first of all buy your general entry tickets and then email with your masterclass requirements. As always we expect these to sell very quickly so I would recommend you let me know asap!

Keep well and see you soon!

Slainte
Eddie

Eddie Ludlow
Whisky Evangelist

thewhiskylounge
www.thewhiskylounge.com
eddie@thewhiskylounge.com
01904 410841
07515 854210

IWSC Spirit Panel Judge 2009-present

Music at the TWE Whisky Show – Tim Hain

We’re happy to announce that we not only have fantastic drinks and food lined up for the TWE Whisky Show but we now also have musical accompaniment thanks to the excellent Tim Hain. You can find more information, as we work out the schedule, over on the TWE Whisky Show website, but for now we’ll […please click on the link to read the remainder of the article…]

THE LINK

Nagano Outdoor Whisky Festival 2011

Fill your favourite backpack with all your preferred goodies and head for the hills, the hills of Nagano prefecture to be precise. September 17, which falls on a Saturday, makes way for one pleasant outdoor event that should not be missed. In the town of Nagawa lies an alluring mountain, which transforms into the Blanche Takayama Ski Resort through out the winter. However, during the summer the lush green pastures make way for events such as the Outdoor Whisky Festival 2011. This event, the first of its kind in Japan, provides the perfect opportunity to get in touch with nature while contemplating the smorgasbord of 150 domestic and international whiskies with an all-you-can-drink policy, slightly hard to believe but clearly stated. This policy excludes rare bottlings I’m lead to believe but they are available to purchase by the dram. Information suggests that this is not only an event for the enthusiast but one for the whole family. Under blanketing blue skies throughout the day an array of entertainment can be enjoyed including local food stalls, music, shows, exhibitions, and workshops, while during the cool evening campfires and BBQ’s are on offer for the whole family to experience.

Contact via homepage

Poker Run Features Ride through Scenic Countryside

Bardstown, KY – Take a scenic ride through the countryside on Saturday, September 17, 2011 when you join us for the Kentucky Bourbon Poker Run.

Registration for the Run is at 10AM at the Nelson County Judicial Center, 200 Nelson County Plaza. The 90-mile ride begins at 11 AM with three stops along the way. Water will be provided at each stop.

All participants will receive goodie bags, a t-shirt and a voucher for the festival food court. Cash and merchandise prizes will be given for the best poker hands, as well as many door prizes.

Registration is $25 per person. Proof of insurance is required at registration. For reservations call 800-638-4877 # 4 or 502-348-3623 # 4. Must be 21 to participate.

The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is a non-profit organization. Visit our website www.kybourbonfestival.com v.

Stratford-Upon-Avon Whisky Festival
Saturday, 1st October 2011, 12pm – 5pm
The Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford-Upon-Avon

The Venue

We’re thrilled to be able to announce the full details of Stratford-Upon-Avon’s inaugural Whisky Festival.

For this Stratford-Upon-Avon Wine and Whisky Merchants Vinology have teamed up with Whisky event specialists The Whisky Lounge to bring you perhaps the best whisky exhibitor line-up of any whisky event ever staged!

Come and spend a memorable day meeting the guys and girls from the industry, and taste some of the finest elixirs to emerge from Scotland, Ireland and around the world…

Your amazing value for money ticket price of just £20.00 includes…

– A free Glencairn Tasting Glass (worth at least £4)
– A Festival Guide
– Small bottle of spring water
– No voucher system. That’s right, you are not charged a further amount to taste drams on the day
– No additional booking fee
– Discount food vouchers for a local eatery

Exhibitors confirmed so far…

Ardbeg
Glenmorangie
Balvenie
Glenfiddich
Glengoyne
Smokehead
Arran
Berry Brothers & Rudd
Diageo (Flavour Map, Distiller’s Editions, etc.) Bowmore, Auchentoshen, Glen Garioch Dalmore, Jura The English Whisky Co.
Glenfarclas
Gordon & MacPhail
Glenglassaugh
Cooley (Irish Distillers)
Pernod Ricard (Glenlivet, Aberlour, Longmorn, etc.)
Tullibardine
Springbank

On top of this, Masterclasses will be taking place throughout the day, for further information on these keep an eye on Vinology’s website at www.vinology.co.uk

This exciting festival will be running all day on Saturday 1st October from 12pm – 5pm.

To make your booking for the Whisky event of the year, please give Vinology a call on 01789 264 586

There will be no physical tickets for this event, on payment, your details will be recorded and checked on the door.

So give Vinology a call now to avoid missing the whisky event of the year!

The Shakespeare Center

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

After the fun and frolics of Black Tot Day here at TWE Vinopolis, we have a very interesting evening lined up with the relatively little-known Tomatin, a distillery located about 16 miles south of Inverness, in the west of Speyside. To host this tasting, we have the great pleasure of welcoming their recently-retired distillery manager Douglas Campbell to take us through some of their fantastic whiskies.

Tomatin Tasting Evening at The Whisky Exchange, Vinopolis
Monday 22nd August, 7:30pm

You may be forgiven for not being completely au fait with the Tomatin Distillery. Though relatively inconspicuous, we feel they are well worth taking note of, being in the midst of something of a renaissance at the moment. The distillery has recently re-launched their range with a fancy new livery, including an array of exciting Vintage and Single Cask releases and is now really making waves in the whiskysphere, scooping up a number of awards at the IWSC and San Francisco Spirits Challenge.

Established in 1897, Tomatin (to rhyme with satin) is one of the highest distilleries in Scotland at 315 metres above sea level. The soft waters of the Alt-na-Frith (Free Burn) which run clear and pure through the Monadhliath Mountains help to create a Highland Malt with delicate flavours yet a rich and mellow style. Its undoubted quality and consistency make for a truly fine dram and a proud testimony to the art of distilling.

To commemorate Douglas’s 50 years of dedicated service at the distillery, Tomatin have released a very special bottling called ‘Decades’, created by vatting casks together from each of the decades he worked at the distillery. Along with this, we will be sampling a selection of their core range, as well as some older vintages, including the 40yo. To top all that off, we have decided to bottle a Single Cask Tomatin, to be released at TWE Whisky Show on 7th and 8th of October – and we want you to choose what we bottle! That’s right, we will have some special cask samples to taste, and at the end of the tasting you will be able to vote as to which you preferred. We will then bottle this as a proprietary bottling in time for it to make its debut at the TWE Whisky Show.

Tickets for this fine tasting evening will be available from 3:00pm, Monday 15th August by calling us on +44 (0)207 403 8688. They are priced at £30 each, and as always are limited to 2 places per booking on a first-come, first served basis.

Other News…

We’d just like to take this opportunity to mention that our opening hours here at TWE Vinopolis have changed slightly. We are now open during the following times:

Monday – Thursday: 11:00am – 7:00pm
Friday 11:00am – 9:00pm
Saturday 10:30am – 8:00pm
Sunday 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Sláinte,

The Team

www.thewhiskyexchange.com

“Scotch: the History, the Taste and the Mystique”
Thursday Sep 08, 2011 7:00PM – 9:00PM
San Francisco,
$65
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/190558

Whisky Archive and The Distilled Man present “Scotch: the History, the Taste and the Mystique.” Appropriate for Scotch novices or aficionados, the educational tasting will provide answers to these and many more questions:

Why is Scotch whisky made only in Scotland ?
Why does Scotch whisky taste smoky?
Why are single malts more expensive?
Why do single malts differ in taste?
Where is the “Whisky Trail”?
Is older whisky always better?
Does water really intensify the whisky flavor?
How long can single malts be s to red?
Why do single malts vary in color?
What does “cask-strength” mean?

This intensive 2-hour workshop will be led by Mark Stewart Cassidy, a Scotch specialist. For over 10 years participants have learned from Mark to fully enjoy and appreciate the most complex and culturally entwined spirit of them all.

About Whisky Archive:

The Whisky Archive is collective for people who like SCOTCH WHISKY–dedicated to spreading the love of scotch, one event at a time. Sign up for our mailing list to be notified of an upcoming event in your area, or let us help you host an event of your own. ..Slainte (Cheers!). www.whiskyarchive.com.

About The Distilled Man:

Dedicated to the gentlemanly arts, The Distilled Man offers classes and events in basic “man skills” like grilling, cocktails and poker. For more information or to sign up for our mailing list, visit www.thedistilledman.com.

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/190558

NEWSFLASH!!

SPRINGBANK WHISKY SCHOOL 2012

The dates for the next Springbank Whisky School have now been set.

Next year the Springbank Whisky School will run for 10 weeks, in terms of one week each, from week commencing 16th April with the final term being week commencing 18th June.

If you would like a registration form and further information please contact whiskyschool@springbankwhisky.com